The Monkey Farm - a farm of HOPE

Where Redemption Became a Destination: Our Wild, Beautiful Evolution… into the only tourist attraction in Central America that 100% of proceeds Give Back to the Community!

In 2013, a bold idea took root when two adventurous volunteers—from Finland and Croatia—joined founder Vicki Conley, a passionate Californian, to create something the world had never seen: a self-sustaining monkey rescue center. At the time, our hearts were set on monkeys and farming—hence the quirky name, The Monkey Farm.

By 2014, the dream began to grow. Volunteers from around the globe came to live and work with us, staying an average of two months as they helped transform this forgotten farm into a thriving rescue center. While the original travelers moved on, Vicki remained, living on-site and guiding the vision forward.

What started as a mission to rescue animals has blossomed into something far greater. Read on to discover how we’ve evolved, and keep evolving into a community-serving force for good…

We built our own aquaponics system to grow fish, fruit, vegetables, and herbs. We milk goats and cows to make cheese, yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, sour cream—even ice cream. We raise chickens, ducks, turkeys, peafowl, and guinea hens for eggs. We even harvest medicinal honey from our own bees.

In 2015, with more food than we needed, we began sharing. Every Tuesday night, we’ve served a hearty stew—and a message of hope and faith—to the homeless and hurting in Playas del Coco.

By 2016, we expanded again—offering free English classes twice a week to local adults, helping them secure better jobs to support their families.

Then in 2017, we saddled up for something even more life-changing: free equine therapy every Saturday for children with cerebral palsy, autism, and Down syndrome. The results have been nothing short of miraculous—like the little boy who was told he would never walk… now joyfully pushing other kids in their wheelchairs.

In 2019, during one of our regular Tuesday night dinners for the homeless, two of our “regulars” asked for help to escape addiction and homelessness. Not knowing what else to do, we brought them home. As others saw their transformation, more men came seeking change. Within six months, the farm was fully run by the men in recovery, and our free, faith-based residential program was born.

We modeled our approach after Teen Challenge, the most statistically successful program in the world—and have continued building on that foundation as we continue to discover additional methods to help heal. (See below to learn how we have added on to the successful foundation of Teen Challenge, making the most successful program ever, better still.)

2020 during the pandemic we learned that addiction is not the problem, it is just a symptom of unhealed trauma and complex PTSD. We began teaching the men how to heal their trauma and seek God. We combine this with nurturing and caring for the animals and plants and equine therapy for trauma. The results have been miraculous! Our program lasts 13 months because it takes a long time to learn the tools to heal a lifetime of trauma and pain.

In 2021, our recovery ministry took a powerful step forward. Vicki, still living on-site with the men, was joined by our first full-time staff member—a former Senior Pastor from Liberia, in recovery himself and experienced in addiction ministry. As our spiritual leader, he brought deep compassion and wisdom, offering personal counseling, teaching recovery classes, and guiding the men through the difficult but life-changing process of healing trauma through faith.

In 2022, something extraordinary began. We became the first free residential addiction and trauma recovery center in the world to integrate natural horsemanship therapy into our program.

It started with a powerful film, The Mustang, where wild horses were paired with prisoners in the U.S. to be gentled and trained. What no one expected? The men weren’t just training horses — they were healing, and not one of them returned to prison.

That transformation lit a fire in us. We knew it could work here too. So now, right here on our farm, the very men in recovery are taming and training horses we raise ourselves.

Through this connection, they’re learning trust, patience, emotional control, confidence, discipline and purpose — all the things addiction had stripped away. And for many, it’s the first time they’ve felt proud of anything in years.

2023 was full of powerful breakthroughs! We kicked off the year with a one-month camp for at-risk young men, helping them find direction and hope through faith in God. It was such a success, we hope to make it an annual event!

Next, we launched our new “Interactive English” classes, giving our men the chance to practice real conversation with visitors like YOU! This is opening doors for jobs after graduation and building incredible confidence. Your encouragement means the world to them—just one kind word brings out the biggest smiles!

In the second half of the year, we hosted our first on-site missionary team: Cowboys with a Mission, a horse-focused division of YWAM. It exceeded every expectation, and we’re now preparing to welcome even more mission teams and church groups in the year ahead.

And the best part? We found a fast, affordable solution to the construction freeze—container-style housing units that cost just $10,000 and are ready in 3 weeks! Two were installed in December, and more are on the way—boosting our capacity and allowing us to host even more teams and men in need.

2024 was a year of powerful transformation, bold growth, and undeniable impact.

We launched the year by repeating our Youth-at-Risk Camp, with several young men choosing to stay and pursue full recovery. We welcomed Andy Carlson, a six-month volunteer sent by ReAct founder, Tim Fletcher, and kept momentum with monthly beach bonfires, baptisms, and daily recovery work that never stops.

One of the most exciting milestones: we broke ground on a new dormitory to house 16 more men, expanding our reach like never before. Meanwhile, our men gave back—volunteering for community road repairs and even teaching parts of our farm tours through our new Interactive English program.

We celebrated major spiritual victories—six ocean baptisms, our youngest graduate yet, and a powerful 10-day visit from Cowboys with a Mission, capped off by a Natural Horsemanship Clinic designed to reach the unchurched through trust-based horse training.

We were recognized in remarkable ways: named among TripAdvisor’s Top 10% of Experiences Worldwide, featured on national TV, and awarded the Gold Transparency Seal from GuideStar—an honor held by fewer than 5% of nonprofits globally.

2025 is already off to a groundbreaking start!

We’ve welcomed a live-in, full-time psychologist to our team—bringing daily, professional mental health support right into the heart of our trauma and addiction recovery program. We’ve also expanded again with the delivery of another mobile container unit, allowing us to provide more staff housing.

And one of the biggest milestones yet—we’ve officially submitted our application to become a certified addiction recovery center in Costa Rica, laying the foundation to grow for years to come.

But that’s not all…

Due to overwhelming interest, we’re preparing to launch a low-cost recovery option for North Americans to join our 13-month, faith-based addiction and trauma healing program. This exciting addition will not only change lives across borders—it will bring incredible new dynamics, cross-cultural connection, and financial sustainability to help us reach even more Costa Rican men in need.

The vision is expanding. The momentum is real. And 2025 is just getting started.

Right now, everything we do is funded through horseback rides, farm tours, and generous donations in our box. But we’re on the verge of something huge—becoming an officially certified addiction recovery center in Costa Rica.

Why does that matter? Because once certified, Costa Rican law requires that property, vehicles, and cash confiscated from drug traffickers and gang members be donated to certified recovery centers—and there are very few in the country. We’d qualify for life-changing support.

What’s stopping us? We have to prove one year of financial stability.
Tourism alone isn’t enough—but monthly donations are.

If you believe in what we’re doing, you can help unlock this breakthrough.
Your monthly gift—of any amount—could help us get certified and rescue even more lives.

Be part of something that multiplies. Become a monthly donor today.  Click the box to make a monthly donation.

The Monkey Farm is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization registered in the United States, ID #81-1664389, and also a registered NGO in Costa Rica. All donations are tax deductible.

*To Teen Challenge, the most successful program in the world, we added:
– Learning to grow your own food, including aquaponics systems
– Bonding with and caring for animals, which is very therapeutic
– Feeding the homeless weekly and public speaking; learning to preach a message of hope
– Learning to give back through community service projects, disaster relief, home repair, construction, etc.
– Trauma understanding, discovering and healing through the “ReAct” daily recovery classes
– Learning a second languange, which builds discipline and develops the cortex part of the brain
– Assisting children born with handicaps to overcome their own challenges through equine therapy
– Learning to play chess and having weekly tournaments, which builds the “thinking” part of the brain and impulse controlEmotional equine therapy with our trained counselors to learn to process unhealed emotions
– Required seminars for family members to support the recovery of the complete family unit
– Learning Natural Horsemanship training methods, which builds trust, patience, emotional control, confidence, discipline and purpose and teaches a trade if desired
– Resume building, creation and job placement assistence
– Reinsertion into society six-week program to integrate well into the community